Patient Story: Melanie Willoughby

Busy business executive Melanie Willoughby has time for all her annual doctor appointments thanks to the efficiency of the Executive Health Program.

Trying to fit doctors appointments into her very busy schedule
is tricky for Melanie Willoughby, who runs the Government
Affairs Office and oversees eight lobbyists as Senior Vice
President of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. The
appointments usually are scheduled on different days and
locations, and it can take months to get exams and follow-ups
done.

“It’s nerve-wracking because physicians have a schedule, I have a
schedule and we’re all trying to cram a lot into a short period
of time,” she explains.

Luckily, there is a program that caters to busy executives like
Ms. Willoughby – the Executive Health Program (EHP) at
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJ). The EHP
streamlines check-ups, exams and consultations so executives
who don’t regularly visit the doctor or don’t have time to go to
the doctor in a traditional outpatient medical setting get it all
done efficiently, in a relaxed environment.

A colleague and current EHP patient referred Ms. Willoughby to
the program. It’s a perfect fit for her. She comes in annually for a
Women’s Wellness Consultation, which includes a physical, blood
work, pelvic exam, Pap smear, and mammogram, and receives
results the same day. EHP Program Coordinators Julie Bartol,
RN, and Elizabeth Maldonado, RN – who together offer more
than 40 years of varied clinical experience – guide patients
through the entire process.

“The EHP recognizes that time is money for busy executives,”
says Michael Steinberg, MD, MPH, an Associate Professor of
Medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
(RWJMS) and an Internist at RWJUH. “Scheduling doctors
EXECUTIVE HEALTH
Time is Money
appointments for different dates, times and locations can be
off-putting, but these visits must happen because nothing is more
valuable than good health,” he says. “The EHP offers patients an
experience tailored to his or her individual health needs, all in
one place.”

Ms. Willoughby is most impressed with the time that EHP
doctors spend with patients. “It’s not your typical 10- or
15-minute visit. Issues and concerns are vetted,” she says. “If not
for that attentiveness, issues that could have become more
serious problems would not have been found so quickly.”

Blood work done during an EHP physical revealed an iron
deficiency. Ms. Willoughby didn’t feel sick, but Dr. Steinberg
suggested she see a gastroenterologist anyway to determine
whether it was indicative of a more serious problem. She did,
and pre-cancerous polyps in her colon were found and removed.

Ms. Willoughby also learned that she had sleep apnea after
acting on a recommendation from her gynecologist at the EHP, Gloria Bachmann, MD, Professor and Interim Chair of the
Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive
Science at RWJMS. “We talked about my weight, diet and
lifestyle, and based on what I told her Dr. Bachmann expressed
concern that I might have sleep apnea. I followed up, and
she was right,” she says.

Ms. Willoughby is thankful for the EHP. “I’d highly recommend it
to other busy executives,” she says. “I get everything done here
in 4 hours and go back to work. I don’t have anxiety about
doctors appointments anymore.”